First Horizon, Regions banks report higher earnings in 2021

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Major Chattanooga banks are seen in the skyline of downtown Chattanooga, including the biggest banks in the market — First Horizon, SunTrust (now Truist Bank), Regions, Pinnacle and Bank of America. Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Major Chattanooga banks are seen in the skyline of downtown Chattanooga, including the biggest banks in the market — First Horizon, SunTrust (now Truist Bank), Regions, Pinnacle and Bank of America.

By Staff Report January 20, 2022 2 min read

The parent companies of two of Chattanooga’s biggest banks both boosted their profits last year despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and the low-interest-rate environment.

Tennessee’s biggest bank, First Horizon, reported Thursday higher earnings in both the fourth quarter and all of 2021 compared with the previous year when First Horizon incurred significant merger expenses related to First Horizon’s purchase in 2020 of Iberia Bank, the biggest bank in Louisiana. The Memphis-based First Horizon Corp. reported 2021 net income of $962 million, or $1.74 per share, up from $822 million, or $1.89 per share, in 2020.

First Horizon’s fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 48 cents were 10 cents a share better than what analysts had forecast for the period, according to Zacks Investment Research.

The Birmingham, Alabama-based Regions Financial Corp, which operates the third biggest bank in Chattanooga, said Thursday it earned net income of $2.4 billion, or $2.49 per share, for all of 2021. That was more than double the $991 million, or $1.03 per share, that Regions earned in 2020.